Canon Compact Cameras, Shooting in RAW

Looking for a compact camera that shoots RAW? If you're on a budget then this may prove rather difficult, since the majority of compact cameras these days do not include this feature and if they do, then they are more expensive than the average compact.

Fortunately, there is another option that is definitely worth looking into. The CHDK Wiki offers an alternative to standard Canon firmware, that enables saving images in RAW format as well as a number of other features not included, such as auto-exposure bracketing and a live histogram. A range of Canon Powershot and Ixus/SD compacts are supported, making CHDK a good solution for the budget-conscious photographer.

From the CHDK Wiki site:

CHDK is a firmware enhancement that operates on a number of Canon Cameras. CHDK gets loaded into your camera's memory upon bootup (either manually or automatically). It provides additional functionality beyond that currently provided by the native camera firmware.

I recently purchased the Canon Powershot A720 IS and installed the CHDK firmware. It does not replace the original Canon firmware, but loads from the SD card and can be removed at any time, so my warranty is safe. Installing the firmware was relatively straight-forward and using RawTherapee (free) processing software, I've since been able to reap the benefits of the ability to shoot in RAW.

What's so great about RAW? Here is an original photo taken in RAW using a Canon 350D SLR with 17-85mm IS lens:

Compared with the adjusted photo using Capture One RAW processing software:

(Hosier Lane, opposite Federation Square in Melbourne.)

Simon's Cat is Very Naughty

For more installments of Simon's Cat, click here.

Melbourne Street Art

Prior to the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, 2006, I went on some photo expeditions around the CBD. I was particularly interested in 'street art', of which Melbourne is full of...

All three pictures were taken with a Canon 350D SLR camera and a 17-85mm IS lens.

Centreway laneway, off Flinders Lane

A wall in an alley in China Town

Hosier Lane, opposite Federation Square

Some of the tools of the trade were left lying around...

Feeling Weird and Disconnected

Have been having an interesting time of late trying to get back into the swing of life and what is considered 'normal'. Just over the past couple of days in particular I've been feeling very disconnected from people and things, like a stranger in a strange, strange world. Surely I'm not alone in thinking that the world is a really weird place and we're all just babies when it comes to understanding and making sense of it.

Went to see a doctor yesterday and he has given me the rest of the year off work and I'm not sure how I feel about it. On the one hand I don't really feel capable of going to work and performing my job properly, but on the other I feel I SHOULD be doing something and that taking the time off is just wrong. He reckons I need to be on medication for the rest of my life in order to live 'normally', but I wonder what I miss out on by being medicated. No-one even truly seems to know how the drugs work on the brain and have the desired effect on behaviour.

I don't want to be on medication for the rest of my life! Am I insane?

The Road Already Paved: Recommended Reading

So many people with mental dis-ease suffer in silence, and yet there are so many that have travelled this well-worn path. For instance, two books in particular that have really helped me to understand my own condition are as follows (and they also come recommended by Sane.org).

The first of these is Anne Deveson's 'Tell Me I'm Here'. Her struggle to get help for her son who was stricken with debilitating illness is heartbreaking, and yet has paved the way for where the mental health system is today.

The second book I would recommend for greater insight into the mind of someone who has schizophrenia is Richard McLean's 'Recovered, not Cured'. The name says it all which is what I like most about this one.

Another book that is said by some to be "the bible of mental illness" is E. Fuller Torrey's book, 'Surviving Schizophrenia'. The book is particularly useful for family/friends/relatives of those afflicted wishing to gain greater understanding or insight into various schizophrenia-related conditions.

Nora the Piano Playing Cat

This cat is simply so beautiful I couldn't resist posting the clip of her. Her name is Nora and her human is a piano teacher which makes it all the more wonderful that they found each other.

The Psychotic Dream

The following was an entry in my dream journal just prior to my second major psychosis experience. Interestingly, the book I am currently reading - 'Fugitive Minds' by Antonio Melechi - states that ancient Greeks thought that dreams were nocturnal insanity.

April 25th, 2002
Don't know where to start with this one, it was all over the place. But essentially, I was living in some rooms of a large building that had used to be an old school boarding house and there were lots of people coming and going, both familiar and unfamiliar. Part of me felt happy, but another felt scattered and not sure how to deal with all the people. The rooms were divided oddly in terms of where people lived and where I lived and I couldn't establish which rooms were mine and even when I did, it would change so that others came and took over the space. At times I had more rooms and at other times I seemed to have less. But all the while people were coming and going through my space. The house itself was huge - a mansion or building with many rooms and levels.

At one stage a young male plumber came in and said he had some work to do but I put my elbow to his chest and wouldn't let him come in - I kept telling him I hadn't asked for anything to be done. I was quite bothered and offended that he was trying to come in without being asked.

At another point I was sitting outside on a concrete sort of step that ran around the perimeter of a circular space where lots of people were milling around. There were some guys standing up near me and I think I knew them. A homeless man sitting next to me turned around and said something I couldn't understand. He had beard growth over most of his face and vivid glowing blue eyes, blue covering his eyeballs, with no whites and he was grinning strangely. One of the guys responded to him for me and his attention was then directed away which was a relief. The started talking about some decision that John Howard [Australia's prime minister for those who don't know] had made in relation to Australia's indigenous population.

In another part of the dream I was walking along with some people unfamiliar to me, but still familiar somehow. The girl to my left kept turning around and telling me to "stop it". I didn't know what she was talking about as I wasn't aware of having done anything to her. But then I realised that some part of me had been reaching out and touching her without my being aware of it at all. I got very freaked out by this and was afraid that I couldn't control myself. I then felt a touch of something or someone at my back and turned to find nothing or no-one there, followed by another touch at my side. I was even more freaked out at this point as I thought I was going completely mad, and then I saw my shadow on the ground in front of me which distracted me.

Some words of analysis: As stated above, this dream occurred just prior to my second major experience of psychosis and I think there are some definite indications, looking back, that suggested this was imminent. Of greatest significance to me is the parts of the dream in the mansion wherein I was having difficulty finding my own space as defined by the walls of the rooms and where other people were. It is said that people in the midst of psychosis experience a loss of boundaries that so-called 'normal' people have no difficulty with.